Visitors to the Largo Library Saturday might have thought a spaceship had landed.

There were young girls with blue hair wearing platform boots and miniskirts. Boys sporting lip rings and heavy eyeliner. Kids with swords, kids carrying stuffed animals, kids dressed up as who-knows-what. ¶ No, it wasn't a convoy from outer space. It was Tosho-Con, an anime convention for teens.

The event started at 9 a.m. and drew hundreds of teens from throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Anime is another word for Japanese animation. Examples of the genre include Speed Racer, Sailor Moon and Pokemon cartoons. ¶ Saturday's event featured video game tournaments, a costume contest, teen art displays and more. ¶ By 4 p.m. it was over. The last of the costumed characters left and normalcy again returned to the Largo Library — at least until next year.

Carrie Weimar, Times staff writer

Tosho-Con is a convention of anime fans. The name is a play on toshokan, which is Japanese for library.

Okay ... so what's anime?

The term is used in Japan to refer to animation in general, in English the term generally refers to material originating from Japan. It derives from manga, Japanese cartooning.